News Alerts & Ministry Updates

Six months after he was arrested for allegations of misdemeanor trespassing at the Mall of America, an agreement was reached for all charges to be dismissed against Christian pastor Ramin Parsa. The charges are suspended for one year to ensure no further incidents occur and will automatically be dismissed after that time.

You and I must pray for the very heart and soul of our country, and we must continue our efforts to strengthen every Bible-believing church and Christian who will speak the truth of the Gospel into their communities.

In the first six weeks of 2019, the right to life has been viciously attacked from every side. New York led a wave of heartless state measures meant to enshrine (and in many cases exceed) Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.
One hundred thirty state legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo cruelly stripped away every legal protection for unborn babies—at every stage—(and their pregnant mothers) from their criminal code.

CITY VIOLATES U.S. AND NC CONSTITUTIONS, DENIES ALL WRONGDOING!?!
At the end of last year, you may have seen our report of how the city of Lincolnton, NC, attempted to coerce two pastors into silence from preaching publicly.
The city passed (and illegitimately enforced) two ordinances that violate both the North Carolina Constitution and the U.S. Constitution—specifically our First Amendment rights to free speech and religion:

As Christians, we fight for the absolutes of God’s truth—and we have an obligation to point out basic facts in a culture awash in misleading statements. If you cherish the right to life, please read on for the next forty-five seconds.

Last week, during Religious Freedom Day (which President Bill Clinton formally recognized beginning in 1993), a majority of media outlets took the occasion to reveal or amplify their hostility toward constitutionally protected religious liberty. With near uniformity, the stories denounced Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Virginia, for its statement of faith.

We wrote previously about the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777 and enacted on January 16, 1786, which later informed the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to free exercise of religion and the Establishment Clause.

Less than a year after his father’s passing, Rev. Franklin Graham was suspended from a major social media outlet during Christmas week—for a 2016 post. Rev. Graham had posted in favor of legislation that protects “the safety and privacy of women and children” in public bathrooms.

Several news outlets have recently noted abortion as the world’s leading cause of death for 2018. In the United States, the most recent data documents nearly one million abortions, a higher loss than the six hundred thirty-five thousand heart disease fatalities and six hundred thousand deaths caused by cancer.

Mississippi: House Bill 1510 passed into law in March and would have restricted abortion to within the first fifteen weeks of gestation with health exceptions, that is until Judge Carlton Reeves for the Southern District of Mississippi immediately issued a temporary restraining order and eight months later ruled against the measure. The Gestational Age Act was widely considered one of the country’s strongest protections for unborn children.

Ohio passed a heartbeat bill through the house and senate, but outgoing governor John Kasich followed through on his promise to veto the measure, claiming it would be counterproductive because of its perceived unconstitutionality. While it’s uncertain at the time of this writing if the legislature will be able to override Kasich’s veto, incoming governor Mike DeWine has indicated he would sign a similar measure if passed in the new legislative session.

While the headlines were dominated with the confirmation of the second United States Supreme Court justice in as many years, it’s important to note several other news items with right-to-life implications in 2018. While this series of posts isn’t comprehensive, it covers several important and pending issues we as Christians should be aware of and praying over.

One year ago, the City of Lincolnton, NC, passed two ordinances that violate both the U.S. Constitution and the North Carolina Constitution. Lincolnton officials specifically (and illegally) targeted the peaceful, protected activities of street preachers. The following spring, city police issued “City Ordinance Ticket[s]” (written on parking tickets) to Pastors Jeffrey and Jeremy Shook while the brothers preached outside a local festival.

In West Point, Virginia, local school administrators discriminated against, attempted to coerce, then (after a four-hour hearing) wrongly dismissed and defamed Christian teacher Peter Vlaming. On December 6, the day before Pearl Harbor Day, the West Point School Board voted unanimously to violate Mr. Vlaming’s constitutional civil rights because he refused to go against his faith and conscience and start calling a gender-confused female student by male pronouns

“We know what works: Freedom works. We know what's right: Freedom is right. We know how to secure a more just and prosperous life for man on Earth: through free markets, free speech, free elections, and the exercise of free will unhampered by the state.”
U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush
Inaugural Address, January 20, 1989

In the war on the absolutes of God’s Word, this ad is an abomination. Too many in the culture twist language in an attempt to confuse, distort, and create their own reality. The little girl in this video was created in the image of God. She is a daughter of our Great High King. She is a miracle. She is not a “choice.”

For over forty-five years, Christians have prayed for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. A recent case decided by the Alabama Supreme Court may be the means to finding it unconstitutional.
Jessie Phillips v. State of Alabama established that Phillips “was convicted in the Marshall Circuit Court of the capital offense of murder of ‘two or more persons’ for the intentional killing of his wife, Erica Phillips, and their unborn child, ‘Baby Doe.’”

The host of “Let’s Talk Church,” DJ Harry, interviewed David C. Gibbs III, NCLL president and chief counsel, on the issue of “Politics and the Pulpit.” David expanded on why the solutions for America go beyond the courthouse, the statehouse, and the White House—and straight to the “church house.”

You’ve seen stories about the state of Christianity in our country. This October 31, an estimated 175 million Americans plan on celebrating Halloween (70% of the adult population). By contrast, 40% of adults self-report attending church on any given Sunday. And studies show ACTUAL attendance closer to 20% over a typical weekend. Realistically, only 50 million Americans will worship together on October 28.

Praying for Restoration and Recovery
As you know, this has been a trying time for many of our brothers and sisters in the southeastern part of the country. With back-to-back hurricanes only a month apart, more than one hundred deaths have been attributed to Hurricanes Florence and Michael.

“Churches that choose to bury their heads and ignore these issues most likely aren't going to survive. They will die out or they will get litigated out of existence. And so if churches want to not just survive into the future but literally thrive, these are key issues that they need to be looking at and working on.”

Last week, Pastor Ken and Liv Hauge filed a complaint with the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Please pray as they witness to the world, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

As children bring their Bibles to school today, please share your prayers for them, their classmates, their teachers, and their families. Every school day in America should be considered “Bring Your Bible to School Day.”

In a rare move, the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission (AERC) sued a law firm defending one of the commission’s targets. The AERC sued The Hope Center, a Christian-run shelter that offers care for abused and battered women during nighttime hours.

As this school year unfolds, the sustained educational and cultural assault on the first words of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) attempts to undermine the faith of another generation. Please stand with us to help churches and parents continue to reveal Biblical truth to these young people.

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:” Romans 1:26
In 2013, G.G., a high school freshman girl suffering from Gender Dysphoria was advised by her psychologist to start living as a male and to be given hormones. According to court documents, the psychologist wrote a letter telling others G.G. “should be treated as a boy in all respects, including with respect to his use of the restroom."

Can state government discriminate against families and schools based on religion? On Fox News @ Night’s “Night Court,” David C. Gibbs III covered the key legal arguments every Christian parent and grandparent need to know—no matter their students’ educational environment. Enjoy the clear, compelling insights David shared with Shannon Bream and the rest of America going into Labor Day Weekend.

How can you protect your child or grandchild from being forced to undress in front of a gender-confused student—especially one (or more) of the opposite sex?
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21

On August 3, another federal judge ruled against the bodily privacy rights of the vast majority of students. U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence ordered a preliminary injunction to forcibly enable the delusions of a gender dysphoric student—only weeks before the Indiana school year began.

A senior-living community threatened Lutheran pastor Ken Hauge and his wife, Liv, with terminating their lease if they continued conducting a Bible study in their apartment or the area commons.
In an ironic twist, The Evergreens at Smith Run is located in the same city where Thomas Jefferson drafted the precursor to the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses.

After failing in their responsibilities, Planet Fitness revoked a woman’s membership for confronting a genetic male in the women’s locker room (who then called 911 against her). Watch Attorney Gibbs’ response.

Christians need to protect our constitutional freedoms, especially our ability to freely exercise our faith and speak biblical truth into our communities. The Millennial Generation has little biblical literacy, attends services at a record low rate, and fewer than half (43%) believe in “the God of the Bible,” according to the Pew Research Center.

In the issue of legislative-led prayer, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case Rowan County v. Lund. Justice Clarence Thomas, issuing a dissent joined by Justice Gorsuch, argued plainly the Fourth District turned its back on history and precedent, “For as long as this country has had legislative prayer, legislators have led it.”

On the week most Americans celebrated our national independence, the California senate was poised to pass a bill to criminalize “advertising” or “selling” of goods and services that support a biblical view of sexuality and gender.

In our ongoing fight for life and liberty, we thank God for the twin win at the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 26. The right to free speech, explicitly protected by the First Amendment, was affirmed for California crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs).

This past month has been busy as we’ve had several major cases proceed forward. In the day that we live, churches are under greater and greater attack. We’re thankful for your partnership as we fight to keep churches focused on sharing the Gospel in their communities.

"Statesmen, my dear sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand." - JOHN ADAMS, JUNE 21, 1776

This Easter, as you prepare to celebrate the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Jesus, Christians everywhere are reminded of His great grace upon us all. Together, we trust in God’s great power to accomplish our shared goals, especially defending your right to live out the Gospel in all areas of your life.

Every January, Pro-Life Americans somberly, prayerfully mark the dark anniversary of Roe v. Wade. More abortions have been committed in the United States since 1973 than the current population of New York and California combined—over sixty million unborn have been killed in the womb.

Thank you for your prayerful support and interest in the NCLL. Please join me in giving thanks for God’s protection and provision over the last FIVE years. Launched in January 2013, the NCLL has been used by God to help promote, defend, and restore our first and most precious right—LIFE!

Despite no public complaints against either display, two nearby southern Virginia counties have ordered the removal of Scripture in the last six months, dishonoring the first responders they were meant to support.

In ruling on Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, the United States Supreme Court confirmed that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment protects against “indirect coercion or penalties on the free exercise of religion, not just outright prohibitions.”